1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is a spider web clearing device attached to all-terrain and operator-driven lawn-maintenance vehicles, including but not limited to, off-road 4-wheel vehicles (also known as ‘quads’), tracker-type lawn mowers, zero-turn lawn tractors, off-road bicycles and off-road motorcycles, (described together in this document as “ATV” and/or “ATV's”)
2. Description of Related Prior Art
The present invention, in some general respects, may relate to U.S. Pat. No. 5,531,478. U.S. Pat. No. 5,531,478 was intended to attach only to an off-road 4-wheel recreational vehicle and was designed for the purpose of attempting to clear away spider webs. Likewise, other devices that may be attached to ATV's other than web clearing attachments may inadvertently and potentially perform the task of clearing away spider webs. U.S. Pat. No. 5,531,478, flags and antennas, when mounted on the front of an ATV, may incidentally serve the purpose of clearing away spider webs. U.S. Pat. No. 5,531,478, flags and antennas are not designed properly for the task of clearing spider webs from a trail or road and are not cost efficient for the task.
ATV operators very frequently encounter spider webs positioned by spiders across the roads and trails and among trees and other objects on and around lawns on which ATV's travel. These spider webs are extremely difficult, if not impossible, for the ATV operator to sec or to avoid before the ATV operator actually comes into contact with the spider web itself. This unforeseeable contact causes spiders and spider webs to come into direct contact with the ATV operator. Often, this unforeseeable contact occurs across the face and eyes of the ATV operator. Contact with spiders and spider webs to the face and eyes is a major safety hazard for the ATV operator, causing the ATV operator to remove one hand from the steering column or handle bars of the ATV in attempts to remove the spiders and spider webs for the ATV operators face and eyes. Spider webs across trails and between objects on lawns and the like cause aggravation for the ATV operator and substantially reduce the work and utility and/or recreational pleasure of operating an ATV. The applied-for spider web clearing device eliminates the safety hazards and aggravations caused by spiders and spider webs in a simple and cost-efficient manner. U.S. Pat. No. 5,531,478, flags and antennas are not designed for a safe, effective, and cost-efficient solution for clearing spider webs from coming into contact with the ATV operator. Neither the manufacturing processes nor the materials used in the above-presently-existing and above-identified items are viable or affordable solutions for clearing spider webs from the lawn, path or road directly in the path of the ATV operator.
For ATV operators, spider webs hanging between obstacles and trees in the lawn or across trails and roads present both a risk to personal safety and are an aggravation for the operator. At the present time, in view of the design deficiencies of U.S. Pat. No. 5,531,478, ATV operators only have for their potential use a device that impairs the operator's vision, that is inefficiently mounted, that is unnecessarily bulky and is heavier than necessary for the task of clearing away spider webs from the path of the ATV operator. Inadequacies and inferiorities in the realm of overall product design and in the realm of practicality of actual production detract from the device identified as U.S. Pat. No. 5,531,478. Radio antennas and ATV flags inadequately and unsatisfactory protect the ATV operator from the safety risks and aggravation of spider webs in the path of the ATV operator. When an antenna or flag is mounted in front of the ATV operator, there exists a threat and danger of the antenna or flag whipping back in the direction of the operator, creating a risk to safety. Antennas, made for radio reception, and ATV flags, made for allowing other ATV operators to better see another ATV, are unnecessarily long and are unsuited to be mounted on the front of an ATV.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,531,478 has a fork-like design, much like a “Y”. U.S. Pat. No. 5,531,478 also has a double fork-like design, much like a double “Y”. These fork-like designs are neither necessary for effective clearing nor practical in design for their intended purpose. Extensive field testing has established that spider webs are attached from points on both sides of trails and roads and are necessarily under high tension. When broken by the device identified as U.S. Pat. No. 5,531,478, a spider web will not recoil and collapse away from the ATV and its operator, as intended. Instead, U.S. Pat. No. 5,531,478 is designed in a fashion that draws the spider web toward the ATV operator. Therefore, a fork-like or double-mounted fork-like clearing device, as in U.S. Pat. No. 5,531,478 defeats the natural tendency of the disturbed spider web to spring out and away from the ATV operator's path. In fact, extensive field testing establishes that the “Y” design of U.S. Pat. No. 5,531,478 actually causes the spider web with which it makes contact to fold backward into the ace and body of the ATV operator. These forked or double-forked clearing devices also accumulate spider webs on the devices themselves, creating for the ATV operator a sight restriction and a diversion of attention from driving the ATV. This is a design error that fails at the purpose intended, namely the efficient clearing of spider webs away from the ATV operator and away from the trail or road. The design is also impractical, because the fork-like designs cause totally unnecessary and added expense to the device's manufacture. U.S. Pat. No. 5,531,478 was not design at all for lawn maintenance applications.
Notably, too, U.S. Pat. No. 5,531,478 mounting hardware is not constructed for multiple mounting applications. The size and weight of the mounting hardware limits the ways it can be attached to the ATV. This excessive weight and size affect mounting applications for smaller ATV's such as so-called mountain bicycles and off-road motorcycles. Added expense will be incurred by the ATV operator from the added requirement of having to mount extra or different hardware materials than the hardware identified in U.S. Pat. No. 5,531,478. Tested, alternative mounting methods, such as clip-on hardware and/or stick-on hardware are not strong enough or durable enough for the intended task while at the same time encountering overhanging trail and lawn obstacles.
The forked clearing devices described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,531,478 present formidable difficulties in actual production and manufacture. Specifically, standing alone, the materials and tooling that would be required to actually produce the main, upright component of the fork-like and double fork-like devices cause U.S. Pat. No. 5,531,478 to be prohibitively expensive to make. Also, in view of the fact that any spider web clearing device on an ATV must be flexible, due to low-lying branches and other low-lying obstacles, the materials and tooling to manufacture U.S. Pat. No. 5,531,478 become all the more complex and expensive. By its own design, then, the forked devices of U.S. Pat. No. 5,531,478 must necessarily utilize specialized manufacturing processes. This specialized manufacturing necessarily will incur expenses well beyond those simple and straightforward production processes used to manufacture the spider web clearing device addressed in this application for patent.
As addressed in relation to U.S. Pat. No. 5,531,478, whipping action must be reduced to a minimum to protect the ATV operator from having the device strike an overhanging object and bend itself backward into the face and body of the ATV operator. U.S. Pat. No. 5,531,478 attempts to reduce whipping action by incorporating a stop member onto its mounting assembly. U.S. Pat. No. 5,531,478, then includes an unnecessary component adding further expense, weight and bulk. The overall area of trail or lawn space attempted to be cleared of spider webs by the bulky “Y” shape of U.S. Pat. No. 5,531,478 creates greater and more frequent movement when impact is made with obstacles or when traveling on uneven terrain. The “Y” shape design in U.S. Pat. No. 5,531,478 takes up a broader area of space in front of the ATV operator, thus hindering the ATV operator's vision. Extensive field testing revealed that a single upright clearing device, as in the spider web clearing device applied for herein, is essential for minimal resistance to tree limbs, vines, branches or any obstructions that may be encountered on a trail or road or lawn. The applied-for spider web clearing device's upright component is designed at an optimal height to clear spider webs while, at the same time, protecting the ATV operator from excessive whipping action. This designed height disallows any whipping action that can come within reach of the ATV operator. The material from which the upright component is made is sufficiently flexible to bend when in contact with overhanging obstacles, but rigid enough to minimize whipping action. At the same time, the uptight component is sufficiently small in diameter to maximize visibility for the ATV operator.
Flags and antennas are designed for specific purposes and needs not at all associated with the clearing of spider webs from the path of an ATV operator. Flags and antennas are rarely, if ever, used on lawn maintenance equipment. Flags and antennas can, by happenstance, act as a spider web clearing device when they are installed in the front of an ATV. Flags and antennas are, however, designed for their own specific purposes, in practically all cases for mounting on the rear of an ATV so as not to interfere with the operator due to their length and their excessive flexibility. If mounted on the front of an ATV, the overall length of the antennas and flags, and their resulting whipping action, can easily reach the ATV operator. This condition disallows antennas and flags from being suitable for the purpose of clearing spider webs at any time and especially in heavy obstacle and terrain conditions. Research has uncovered no instance where an antenna or flag was advertised, or even mentioned in advertisements, to protect the ATV operator form spider webs or any other obstacle. The applied-for spider web clearing device is specifically designed to be mounted on the front and in the center of an ATV for the singular purpose of severing a spider web by taking advantage of the spider web's natural tension. This severing by the applied-for spider web clearing device causes the spider web to recoil away from the ATV operator and ATV itself.